The refugees had been watching the wagon closely since it was delivered under cover of night twice. Each time, it would arrive at the mansion and then leave within half an hour.
Qingyan leaned back on the soft couch, watching the brightly lit courtyard. Servants were quietly moving things; the inner courtyard of the mansion had its cellars specially dug. The grain was being delivered to the cellars, unnoticed by outsiders, but the loyalty of the servants would be put to the test.
The moonlight outside the window was hazy. Qingyan watched for a while, then drifted off to sleep.
When Yin returned, Qingyan started snoring softly. He bent down, picked her up, and carried her to the bed.
He lay on the bed fully clothed, his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his embrace. He only felt this possessiveness towards Qingyan in bed; he would never do such a thing to anyone else.
"Little darling, everything will be fine in two days!" Yin muttered in a low voice.
As dawn approached, a sharp whistle sounded outside. Yin opened his eyes and looked warily at the doorway, his cold gaze almost shooting two holes through the door to the inner chamber.
Su Peisheng seemed to sense Yin's gaze and wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
"Master, there are quite a few people outside the manor, they must be here to beg for food." Yin pursed his lips, and the person in his arms shifted uncomfortably.
"Little darling, there's going to be a good show!" Yin whispered in Qingyan's ear.
Waaaaah!
She was sleeping soundly beside the Duke of Zhou just a second ago, but she woke up instantly. Su Lan was wearing a sapphire blue palace dress. She followed Yin out and stepped onto the stone pavilion. Looking down from the window on the third floor, she saw many people banging on the gate of the mansion.
"Open the gate for us quickly!" the people shouted, echoing the leaders.
Yin smiled. The leaders were all familiar faces; they were mostly illegitimate sons of prominent families in the capital.
On the surface, they were all servants of the large family, wholeheartedly obeying the orders of the patriarch.
“Those people look like they’re from the Tong family.” Qingyan pointed to a familiar figure, and Yin narrowed his eyes.
The fact that the Tong family had gotten involved made Yin feel very uncomfortable. After all, they were the family of Consort Tong. If they made any big moves, Tong Guowei might very well set a trap for him.
"Eru, have someone drag that man to the front door and let the disaster victims see if they recognize him!" This man is Longkodo's confidant, and must have come with Granny Lin.
“Master, my home is over here!” Erlu knew every confidant of the Tong family well, and Longkodo’s actions were ruthless.
Yin had no choice but to let Qingyan consume the Yuelai Inn's stored grain, which might cause a rift in their relationship.
"Damn it!" Yin cursed under his breath, feeling uneasy all over.
Pfft!
Qingyan laughed. The cold relationship between Consort Tong and the Tong family seems to have a lot to do with the Fourth Prince.
"Go and handle it, so that the people know his identity!" Yin didn't want to procrastinate. Many things, if delayed, would have serious consequences. He must not show off behind people's backs.
Qingyan held up his binoculars and looked at the entrance. Erlu opened the gate, and many people tried to break through the guards' encirclement and rush into the mansion.
He roughly lifted the man onto the stone steps at the entrance, his face turned towards the people below.
"Fellow villagers, do you know this person?" Erlu looked at these people, who had basically been fooled.
They looked around, and two people from the same village as the man nodded in agreement.
"This man is a servant of the Tong family in the capital. You all from the same village should know that he hasn't appeared in the village since he was twelve years old." Erlu activated his inner strength, and his words could reach everyone's ears. Some people quickly withdrew from the circle.
Inside the stone pavilion, Yin stood side by side with Qingyan in his arms. Yin could not see the people's eyes, but he could detect the problem from the change in the formation.
"Fourth Brother, those who withdrew, were they... really ordinary people?" Qingyan was also becoming somewhat abnormal, and often expressed doubts.
Yin smiled and smirked, which startled Xiao Guai.
"Little darling, let's just watch the show. Father Emperor sent Erlu here, so he must have discovered it!" Yin knew Kangxi's desire for control best and that he didn't completely trust his court officials.
Yin held Xiao Guai's little hand, and his warm palm made Xiao Guai feel at ease.
No matter how chaotic things are outside, with Yin around, she can live a peaceful life.
"Fourth Prince, does Father Emperor know that something bad is going to happen here?" Fei Yanggu always told her not to underestimate Kangxi, that he was the biggest boss and could kill people in a minute.
Yin nodded. He had guessed most of Kangxi's thoughts. The leading officials in Jiangnan were Kangxi's childhood study companions, and he was thinking of their past friendship.
“Yes,” Yin had a premonition that something was wrong on the way south. Yin and he went to two different places, and he knew that Kangxi would arrange for the guards around them to gather information. Now, he understood. “In recent years, the amount of money the Ministry of Revenue has allocated for disaster relief has been increasing, but the effect of disaster relief has been very poor.”
In recent years, the Three Feudatories and other regions have been in turmoil, and the national treasury has not had much silver to support disaster relief. "Yin had to admit that Qingyan's two shops had provided them with the greatest help, but all of this had to be returned to Qingyan."
ah?!
Qingyan was stunned. There was a lot of silver, but the result was very bad. Then there was only one possibility: layers of exploitation. The disaster relief grain could only reach the county magistrate at most through two layers.
“Every year, the manager sends hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. The biggest credit for the construction of this dam goes to you!” The Tong family used such petty tricks to try to suppress Qingyan. In this area, Yuelai Inn, Linglong Pavilion and Minsheng Pharmacy are three extremely popular places.
Did that impoverished person not benefit from the Minsheng Pharmacy?
To the outside world, Minsheng Pharmacy is owned by the royal family. However, those with some status and connections are generally aware that this pharmacy belongs to Qingyan.
"So much?!" Hundreds of thousands every year, these three shops have been operating in Yangzhou for three years, with millions of taels of silver poured into this dam. It looks like they're constantly on the verge of collapse.
“Yes, the post-disaster resettlement also requires a sum of money, which is different from our disaster relief.” Yin had to admit that going to disaster relief with Qingyan cost the least amount of money, and there was basically no money left after the disaster. The disaster victims did not lose their ability to work and were even more motivated than before, which surprised Yin a lot.
Qingyan smiled, her lips pursed. The kind of courage and determination she displayed in disaster relief was something probably no one could withstand!
"The pressure is too great. If the disaster victims show even the slightest dissatisfaction, it will be our fault!" Yin pursed his lips. Kangxi sent him here because he hoped that he could take on this difficult situation.
Qingyan blinked, thinking, "The disaster victims have become our ancestors."
"Hmph, who wouldn't want to be supported by the court, receiving silver without working? Father Emperor even reduced taxes for the disaster-stricken areas. They just returned home, a time when they needed some pressure, but you all let them do as they pleased!" Qingyan couldn't understand why, with the court distributing so much disaster relief money, those people weren't buying land, but instead using it for living expenses. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)
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